The Welshman Plotting Minnesota's Route to a First NBA Title

Eight different franchises have lifted the Larry O'Brien Trophy in the past eight seasons. The man hoping to make Minnesota the ninth is, improbably, from Saint Asaph in Wales.

Tim Lewis — the first British-born coach in the NBA — has returned to the Timberwolves' staff this season in an expanded role, designing offensive game plans for a backcourt pairing of Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball that he calls an offensive coach's dream.

A 25-year friendship

Lewis and Minnesota head coach Chris Finch go back decades — opponents in the British league, then colleagues at London 2012 where Lewis assisted Finch's Team GB alongside now-76ers coach Nick Nurse. In between, Lewis coached national teams in Thailand and Qatar, won Japan's Empress Cup with the Eneos Sunflowers, and built Minnesota's post-game analysis programme from scratch.

"For the last year and a half, Chris has knocked on the door and said 'come back'," Lewis told BBC Sport Wales. "Eventually I gave in. It's a full assistant's role — offensive game planning, plus some development work with the young bigs."

The dream pairing

Minnesota added Ball and Josh Green in a four-team trade in July. Ball hit 272 three-pointers last season — second in the NBA — and his arrival, Lewis argues, transforms the geometry: a lob threat next to Rudy Gobert, and relief from the double-teams that shadow Edwards.

Edwards himself is "an immense talent, very coachable," Lewis says. The schedule is unforgiving — Miami, Orlando and Toronto first — but the ambition is plain: "Fifty-plus wins puts you in position. Everybody's saying this team has an opportunity to go a long way."

A title would be the franchise's first since its 1989 founding. "Minnesota fans are unbelievable," Lewis said. "It would be an amazing accomplishment — more for the city than anything."